Enabling potential and uplifting community.

Scholars Equity Network seeks to activate a network of leaders who refuse to leave barriers in place for the next generation. Talent is universal, opportunity is not.

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Our Mission

Scholars Equity Network (SEN) exists because making it through broken systems doesn't fix those systems. The next talented person still faces the same barriers we did. At SEN we believe true success is measured not by what we achieve but what we enable others to accomplish.

Personal & Professional Development

Through regional gatherings and programming, we create spaces and opportunities where our network can advance their careers, develop leadership skills, and connect across sectors. Individual success becomes collective power when we share what we've learned and bring others with us. Our goal is simple: we want every member of this network to have the tools and connections to lead wherever they choose.

Pay It Forward 2026 Summit

Economic Empowerment

We provide direct resources to Changemakers through our Pay It Forward Accelerator (PIFA), funding projects that help create pathways in underserved communities. Our programming also focuses on wealth building and entrepreneurship. We seek to build a network where economic knowledge and opportunity flow to the communities that need them most.

See PIFA 2025-26 changemakers

Civic Engagement

We prepare leaders to transform systems from the inside and participate fully in our democracy. This means serving on nonprofit boards and government commissions, running for office, shaping policy, organizing in communities, and ensuring our voices are heard where decisions get made. It also means the fundamentals: voting, volunteering, showing up for the issues that matter.

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This unprecedented network of 20,000+ scholars cannot go to waste. That’s why SEN Exists.

Twenty-six years ago, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invested $1.6 billion to establish the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program. By investing in brilliant students who'd been overlooked by traditional systems, the foundation tapped into a reservoir of potential that had always existed but rarely received resources.

From 2000 to 2016, 20,000 low-income, high achieving students received full scholarships for undergraduate and select graduate programs.

Today, Gates Millennium Scholars are health professionals, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and community organizers. We're making impact in every field, in every corner of the country, and beyond.

Our Story

And we're not keeping it to ourselves.

We’re expanding our network and impact. The same communities that produced 20,000+ Gates Millennium Scholars are still producing brilliant leaders who deserve support. The next generation still faces under-resourced schools, limited access to mentorship and professional networks, and systems that weren't built to recognize their potential. Systems change doesn't happen when we succeed individually, it happens when we invest that success back into the communities that shaped us.

That's why SEN welcomes non-GMS scholars, community organizers, supporters, and allies who share our commitment to equity and access. We're bringing in the communities we came from. We're activating leaders who have the same vision, talent, and determination we do.

This network's power isn't in exclusivity, it's in what we build together. Twenty thousand scholars is a remarkable foundation. But the movement we're seeking to create? It’s bigger.

Join SEN CONNECT

Looking Back.

Moving Forward.

Founded by GMS Alumni Association in 2020, Scholars Equity Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit built on the following mission — to provide professional and personal development, civic engagement, and economic empowerment opportunities to scholars from underserved communities to be personally, professionally, and financially positioned to give back to the communities they come from.

Scholars Equity Network is the next chapter, and it’s just the beginning.

SEN isn’t defined by the opportunities we received; it’s defined by the opportunities we create for others. We exist to help scholars transform gratitude into action, individual success into collective impact, and scholarship into a lifelong commitment to service.

Whether you're a GMS alum looking to reconnect, a supporter who believes in our mission, or a Changemaker ready to lead—we're building this together.

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Interested in contributing your knowledge and expertise?

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SEN Board of Directors

Chau Dang

BOARD CHAIR
I’m honored to serve as Board Chair of Scholars Equity Network (SEN). I’m a Gates Millennium Scholar, Class of 2002, and I’ve been deeply involved in our alumni community—first serving on the Gates Millennium Scholars Program’s Alumni Council and co-chairing the National Volunteer Initiative from 2013–2015. I joined the SEN Board in 2021, shortly after the organization was founded in 2020.
Professionally, my path has taken me from astrophysics to technology. I began my career as a solar physicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center before moving into technology at Accenture Labs and now NVIDIA, where I work in cybersecurity and AI strategy. I hold an MS in physics from the University of Oklahoma and a BA in astronomy from Whitman College, and previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society.
I’m always reminded of how incredible our scholars are and how deeply they continue to give back.
SEN is in a unique position to inherit the greatness cultivated by the Gates Millennium Scholars Program: a network of well-educated citizens living at a time when large systems are failing them, yet they remain hungry, capable, and ready to rebuild what’s broken.
Our newsfeeds are often full of stories that feel hopeless. SEN’s Pay It Forward Accelerator (PIFA) gives me hope. Gates Scholars are Changemakers, and SEN believes that investing in them will change the world.
Let’s continue to grow PIFA to convert our collective potential into kinetic impact: action, movement, and measurable change.
Dr. Monica Moya

BOARD CHAIR-ELECT

Group Leader in the Materials Engineering Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Currently she works as the principal investigator and as a technical lead on several bioengineering projects including 3D bioprinting of vascularized human tissues. She received her Bachelors of Science from Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology. A native of the LA area, she returned to the west coast to do her postdoctoral research at UC Irvine as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth Kirschstein-NRSA Fellow. Her research has resulted in numerous peer review publications, 2 book chapters and numerous national and international conference presentations.
She is a GMS scholar from the inaugural cohort in 2000 and has served as a GMS alumni mentor, GMS/HSF scholarship reader and served on the GMS Alumni council. In addition to be a board member of the Scholars Equity Network, she currently serves as a member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Silicon Valley Advisory Council and a board member of the Pedrozzi Scholarship Foundation.
Luis Garcia

TREASURER-SECRETARY
Kristen C. Smith

BOARD MEMBER
Distinguished scholar, award-winning entrepreneur, and committed public servant with a multifaceted background spanning education, economic policy, and politics. Her academic journey began in 2006 as a Gates Millennium Scholar recipient, culminating in a BA in History. Furthering her studies, she earned an Ed.M. in Education Policy Studies, Organization, and Leadership from the esteemed University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, complemented by a certification in Education Finance from Georgetown University.
As a two-time published author, Kristen specializes in policy intersections concerning race and gender, advocating for actionable measures that foster equity and inclusivity. Her expertise extends to collaborating with non-profit organizations on leadership development and capacity-building initiatives, contributing significantly to campaign victories promoting equity and justice across Louisiana.
Kristen currently resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she drives meaningful change and positively impacts her community and beyond.
Reyna Suarez

BOARD MEMBER
Visionary and strategic leader who excels in turning ideas into impactful realities. With a rich background that spans across various industries and disciplines, she brings a wealth of insights and wisdom to SEN. She fosters a coach, model, care and fail fast environment to support organization, team and individual success. In her current role as Sr. Director of Customer Experience at Cisco, Reyna leads a global consultant team that helps drive growth, increase renewal rates, and reduce customer attrition. Her experience in creating strategic initiatives, aligning with executive leadership, and navigating complex business environments is invaluable to our team. She brings a results-driven perspective, combined with a compassionate understanding of the nonprofit sector's unique challenges.
Reyna's ability to influence change, engage stakeholders, and initiate successful projects is matched by her commitment to serve as a trusted advisor. She is a highly energetic individual, both visionary and detail-oriented, ready to apply her skills to advance SEN’s mission and goals. As a board member, Reyna is poised to be a pivotal player in our continued success. Her experience, coupled with her genuine desire to give back to the community, makes her an exceptional addition to our team.
Joshua Patterson

BOARD MEMBER
Vice President of Solutions Architecture and Engineering at NVIDIA, where he leads teams helping enterprises accelerate AI, large-scale data processing, and advanced analytics. A former founder and nationally recognized data science leader, he previously helped build NVIDIA’s RAPIDS platform and has advised major public initiatives, including serving on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Scientific Advisory Committee.
Naomie Droll

BOARD MEMBER
Attorney based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to expanding opportunities for underserved communities through education, public service, and community empowerment. She serves as Counsel in an Indian law practice, where she advises Tribal governments, Alaska Native organizations, Tribal enterprises, and nonprofit organizations on matters involving governance, economic development, and public policy.
A Gates Millennium Scholar alumna and enrolled citizen of the Navajo Nation, Naomie understands firsthand the transformative power of educational opportunity. She has dedicated her career to strengthening institutions, advancing public policy, and creating pathways for historically underserved communities to thrive.
Naomie served as Interim Executive Director of Scholars Equity Network, where she led the organization through a period of growth by strengthening its governance, compliance, and operational infrastructure. Her leadership helped position the organization for growth, while expanding opportunities for scholars and alumni to engage, lead, and serve.
As a member of the Board of Directors, Naomie remains committed to SEN's mission of empowering scholars to become leaders who invest their knowledge, talents, and resources back into the communities that shaped them. She is passionate about ensuring that future generations have access to the same opportunities that helped shape her own journey and believes that leadership carries a responsibility to create opportunities for others.